The house at Royal Canal way where a man lay dead for four years is just yards from the busy North Circular Road and Phibsboro, North Dublin.

Overgrown trees and bushes block a view of the small bungalow from the road.

Inside the building there is evidence of drug use including syringes and other paraphernalia.

The drug vials looked like they had been left there recently.

Broken shelves, drawers and seats litter the floor.

In what used to be a living room, a piano sits with a number of books and letters on top.

All the windows are broken or removed while many of the internal doors lie smashed on the floor.

It was in this eerie home that the body of a man was discovered this week.

His badly-decomposed remains lay there since 2009. The body of the unidentified male was discovered by a burglar hunting for copper wire on Wednesday.

Gardai believe this watch could be key to identifying the man (Image: An Garda Siochana)

A postmortem at the Mater Hospital concluded the tragic man died from natural causes and it is believed he sought shelter in the property in 2009.

A security source said: “The position of the body would indicate he was trying to keep warm.

“He was discovered curled up in an alcove with a set of drawers pulled over it.”

Gardai last night issued an appeal to help identify the man.

A spokesman said: “Gardai are checking missing person’s reports and examining dental records to establish the identity of the deceased. DNA testing will also be used.”

Detectives believe the body is that of a male who is described as being of thin build, between 5ft and 5ft 6ins, wearing size six navy boots, navy or black combat-style pants and a green striped jumper.

He was wearing a Pulsar watch and gardai last night released a picture of the timepiece. The age of the deceased is not known.

Anyone with information can contact Mountjoy Garda station on 01 666 8600.